UFC on Fox Sports 1 Live: Chael Sonnen vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
by Dr. Octagon, J.D.
Just so we aren’t accused of haboring a pro-American bias, I’ll start off by pointing out that Chael Sonnen has also been known to use testosterone (although he argued that it was a therapeutic use exemption mixup after his loss to Anderson Silva).
I still really get a kick out of Chael. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has said he’s super ticked about all the insults Chael has been dishing out at his countrymen, including Wanderlei Silva and the Nog Bros. Sonnen says more ridiculous stuff than Mike Grunwald. Sonnen is coming off two losses to two of the best martial artists ever, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. He’s a stifling wrestler with great cardio and ground and pound. This may be the last time you see him at light heavyweight, as he plans to go back down to middleweight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Sonnen talked himself into another light heavyweight bout in the future.
Rua is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and still hits very hard. He is also slick on the ground, but has issues with cardio and knee injuries. The cardio could be an problem if this fight goes the full five rounds. Rua’s been training his boxing with Freddie Roach, so it will be interesting to see if that has helped him. You never really know how Rua is going to look, but he hasn’t impressed me in his last few fights. He has more ways to win than Chael, by KO or by submission. Chael is famously susceptible to submissions, but I could also see Chael winning by grinding top control.
Round 1: Chael shoots before announcer Anik is done reading the Geico ad, and puts Rua on the ground with a double. Mauricio gets up and puts Chael on his back in turn. Chael is working a guillotine choke. Rua rolls out of it and they’re back on the feet. Chael is working knees.
Rua tries for a takedown again, but Chael reverses it and is on top again. Chael is trying to step through while throwing intermittent punches to Rua’s head and body. Three minutes left and they’re showing the action from one of the floor cameras, which is awesome.
Shogun has two underhooks and is holding onto Chael, who is punching the body. Chael is in the full guard, posturing up and punching. Mauricio rolls and Chael is back in half guard landing punches. Rua is trying to hold Chael down on top of him to limit the damage, but Chael is wearing him down from the top. Rua looks to stand, but Chael slaps on a guillotine and Rua taps.
Chael Sonnen by submission. I did not see that coming.
Chael raps, gives a shoutout to Fox Sports 1, calls out Wanderlei Silva: “I didn’t know that they could stack crap that high.”
Great night of fights and an auspicious start for FS1.